Knowing You are Right
John 8:42-59
March 17, 2024 anno Domini
The Jews thought they were right. Jesus thought He was right. They argued. The Jews were the majority. They won. Jesus lost. They would have killed Him, but He hid and escaped, for the moment.
How do you know if you are right? If the majority agrees with you, are you right? If the other guy runs away and hides, are you right? If you stay in power and the other side loses, are you right?
Today is Judica Sunday. When a Sunday has a name, it comes from the first word of the Introit. Vindicate me, O God. Judge me and find me right before my enemies.
Here’s my threefold test for vindication drawn from today’s Gospel reading:
1) Am I doing, saying, confessing what God’s Word says? The answer should be yes.
2) Am I the only one who benefits? The answer should be no.
3) Is my neighbor going to benefit from what I have said and done? The answer should be yes.
Let’s run Jesus through the test because if He passes the test, then we know we’re on the right path to vindication.
In Sunday morning Bible Study, we just finished John chapter 5. In that chapter Jesus heals a lame guy on the Sabbath and orders the man to work by picking up his bed and carrying it. By working on the Sabbath Jesus claimed to be God and the Jews were upset. Jesus defended His actions by calling a number of witnesses to His Divinity – John the Baptist, His miracles, His Father’s Word spoken at His Baptism, the Holy Scriptures and finally Moses. Someone commented in Bible Study that Jesus was a lousy defense attorney. His called witnesses who testified to everything He was accused of. It would be like Donald Trump handing over his financial records to the Attorney General of New York or Hunter Biden admitting the laptop and everything on it was his.
Jesus does what God the Father gives Him to do. He’s not going to lie to save His life. His Father sent Him to heal and save you, and make you human again, and that is what He does. He is the Lord, so He works on the Lord’s day. He doesn’t apologize for doing His Father’s work. He doesn’t back down when the Jews threaten Him with death or call Him names or accuse Him of being in league with the Devil. He hides Himself because His hour to die is not yet.
The Jews believed they were saved because of who they were. They were the children of Abraham and that made them right. Now, that is as foolish as saying you’re right because you belong to the Missouri Synod or you’re going to heaven because you’re a descendant of Martin Luther. Jesus told them the children of Abraham are not by blood, but by faith in the promises of God. You are not right because of who you are. You are right because of what God does for you. Abraham believed God and it was credited to him as righteousness. We see that faith in Abraham when he was willing to sacrifice his son, when he told Isaac, “The Lord will provide for himself a lamb” and when he said to his servants, “Stay here … I and the boy will go over there and worship and come back to you.” Abraham believed they were both coming back. Abraham believed God’s promises that Isaac was the son through whom the Christ would come and so he did what God told him to do.
By Jesus doing and saying what His Father told Him we already see that He passes test number 2. Is He doing this only for His benefit?
There doesn’t appear to be any personal benefit for Jesus. In John 5 the Jews want Him dead and, in this chapter, they pick up the stones to do it. When Jesus questioned their legitimacy as Abraham’s sons, they accused Jesus of being a bastard. There were certainly rumors of Mary’s pregnancy before her marriage to Joseph. Nazareth was like Gilman or Fairhaven – everyone knows everyone’s business and there’s nothing like gossip to make people feel righteous. The Jews suggest His dad was a Samaritan or if his birth was miraculous it was because his father was the Devil himself.
Jesus did not benefit from speaking His Father’s Word. They attacked His character and then His life. When they finally arrested Him to bring Him before Pontius Pilate they chose Caesar, who claimed to be God, over Jesus of Nazareth, the true God. When people love false gods they’re must kill the true God to feel right.
What have you learned from Jesus so far? He speaks what God speaks. He does what His Father gives Him to do. How did that work out for Him. Do you expect any different? What does the State of Minnesota think of Christians who confess God’s Word? They think we are racists, radicals, bigots, homophobes, child abusers, and haters. Our Democratic politicians are proposing and passing Laws right now to prove their point. Who knows? The majority of Minnesotans might agree with them. They have the power and you do not. It’s possible your children and grandchildren will be taught these lies about Christianity in school.
What are you going to do? Despair. Get angry. Use force. Start calling them names as they have called you names. Look at Jesus as He passes the third test. Everything He does and says is for the benefit of His neighbor. Jesus did not argue with or anger the Jews because He wanted a fight. He angered the Jews because He told the truth. He told the truth because He wanted them to repent and be saved. He didn’t hate them. He didn’t call them names. He loved them because He wants them to love Him and have life in His name. “If God were your Father you would love me, for I came from God and I am here.
As we confess the truth in this evil world, among those whose father is the Devil, who lie and believe that the murder of the unborn and the elderly can fix our problems, remember this. The goal is not to be right. Jesus wasn’t right for His own sake, for His own glory. He was right because He did what His Father gave Him to do. He was right so you could be saved from your sin. He preached what was right, even when it angered the Jews, even when He knew it would lead to His death. He knew that through these confrontations His Father was leading Him to the cross as Abraham took Isaac to Mount Moriah. You see, Jesus is the Ram caught in the brush. He’s the substitute sacrifice so all of us Isaacs can go free. There’s no substitute for Jesus. He’s either dies in your place or you die.
Jesus had to tell that truth and be that truth for the world. People didn’t like it. They hated Him, threatened Him, and killed Him. The Small Business Council in Nazareth would not endorse Jesus as a successful business model. Edward Jones would not have encouraged you to buy stock in Jesus Inc, especially during that last week of His life. But God vindicated Him.
We’re two weeks out from the Vindication. God raised Him from the dead. Jesus was right. He accomplished all righteousness by His death and life and when God raised Him from the dead He declared the world right again. Jesus wasn’t right for Himself. He was right for you. Whoever believes in Him will never taste death. Whoever belongs to the Father hears His Word and loves His Son. If you believe Jesus you are right – you are right with God, forgiven, loved, secure, so you can be right – speak the truth of God’s Word, do what it says because it’s the right thing to do for your neighbor. In the name of Jesus. Amen.